Most of Mordashov’s net worth is tied to Severstal, whose stock has risen 18 percent over the past 12 months, while Norilsk Nickel, Potanin’s key asset, dropped almost three percent.

Leonid Mikhelson, the CEO of Russia's largest independent natural gas producer Novatek, was ranked third with $15.1 billion. The top five in the Bloomberg index include Viktor Vekselberg, the head of Russian conglomerate Renova Group and the co-owner of one of Russia's largest investment consortiums Alfa Group.

The 81st spot in the world top 100 is taken by another Russian billionaire, the founder of USM Holdings Alisher Usmanov with a fortune of $12.1 billion.